omelet

it was an early morning and it was my day off. i woke up early, fried some leftover rice and cooked my usual vegetarian meal, fried bean curd and some sauteed vegetables. i was advised that to get complete nourishment from my vegetarian diet i need at least prepare four colors with my vegetables. of course, this has not always been the case, i can only cook what is available at the moment. i thank the Infinite that although i am not able to follow this, i can generally say i'm in the pink of health.

my daughter woke up early too. she has to do some early morning photo shoot. she wants the sun's rays cascading through our window as part of her prop. ah, creative people, they find ways to manipulate things to fit their artistic needs.

"Papa, i need to cook a dish. my assignment is food photography." she excitedly told me.
 "what dish are you cooking?" i asked.
 "omelet," she replied, "it has to be colorful and it should look delectable in the photo."
 "okay." i surrendered the kitchen to her. anyway, i'm done with my own cooking.

i went on to do some other house chores. at the corner of my eye, i secretly watched her as she prepared her ingredients. i cannot help but smile. cannot help but go back in time when she was just a toddler. unsure of her steps. needing assistance. needing my guidance or her mom's. now she is a young adult confidently cutting up her veggies and sauteing ingredients for her artsy omelet. pretty soon, i heard her beating up the eggs and then the sizzle of the oil as the beaten eggs were ladled unto the frying pan. after a minute i heard her cry out.

"Papa!"
 "what?"
 "help! i cannot turn the fried egg over." i can see her struggling with the rounded, yellowish sheet of fried egg on the pan. she had already sprinkled the cooked ingredients on top of it. now the fried eggs need to be folded over these ingredients then turned over to complete the omelet.  i hurried over to her side.

 "look," i explained,"you're rushing it, that's why you're finding it difficult to fold the eggs and turn it over. wait until it has fully set." i waited a couple of seconds more to let the egg sheet to set. then i carefully folded it over the colorful food mix she sprinkled on top of it. after this, showed her how to turn it over. she smiled as she watched me do this. i'm not a cook myself but i have to look good doing this. i believe i was able to do it convincingly. she thanked me and assured me she'd be able to do it next time.

soon, i saw her busily shooting her photographs. she had arranged the dish on the dining table, complete with her other props. the sun's rays were just in time too as they started to cascade in from the window beside the dining table. she'll be able to hurdle this food photography assignment successfully.

photo by neysa saguid 2011

 ah, omelet.

i thought to myself -- most often, we are like this. so confident of ourselves. so sure. so cocky. so we go headlong with our adventures. with our escapades. everything is planned. and then, without any warning, Life takes a different turn. unprepared for this, we are lost. we panic. and we find ourselves getting more lost. problem is, most times, our Ego does not want to accept this. that we have committed a mistake, a miscalculation. that with all the knowledge we have, the experiences we have accumulated, the material accouterments we have amassed, we can still make errors, that we can still make plans that miscarry.

times like these, we have to cry out. we have to recognize our inadequacy. we have to be humble and ask for help. we have to listen to our inner Man, that part of us which is Divine, that part of us which is perfect. that part of us which is humble, which knows that no matter how we plan it, Life will still put us to test.

it is a requirement to be Reliant, to be Confident, as the Old Sages had advised,
but,
this must emanate from the True Self, that divine spark within us all ..

photo by neysa saguid 2011